Jakarta braces for Floods as Sluice Gates are Opened

Torrential rain has caused floods and landslides in satellite cities around the Indonesian capital, with authorities warning that floods could hit Jakarta after they were forced to open sluice gates on a major upstream reservoir.

The Palm Oil industry has already destroyed 80% of the pristine Indonesian rain forest, leading to habitat loss for the orangutans, tigers, elephants and rhinos all together.

The Indonesian government has no control over the devastation, because most of the forest was illegally burned down by the greedy industry, which use the palm oil for western food and health care products.

The smoke released by the forest fires caused the same amount of daily carbon emissions as the total US daily industrial pollution. Indonesia used to be a Dutch colony in the past, but the administration was not able to stop this horrible process, killing animals and causing pollution leading to global warming.

Palm oil is found in everything from shampoo to donuts, and is now the most common vegetable oil in the world. Unfortunately it is also one of the world’s leading deforestation drivers.

Palm oil is extracted from the fruit of the oil palm tree, which thrives in humid climates. The large majority of palm oil production occurs in just two countries, Malaysia & Indonesia, where huge swaths of tropical forests and peat lands (carbon rich swamps) are being cleared to make way for oil palm plantations.

The impacts of these palm oil plantationsare devastating because the carbon released into the atmosphere drives global warming, while shrinking habitats for a multitude of endangered species.

In general, fast food chains score the highest carbon footprint numbers of them all. Subway, Baskin Robbins, Dunkin’ Donuts, McDonald’s & Burger King are all in the top-5 brands that help to destroy our environment.